Katie Wighton is back and bringing the sunshine with her. Best-known as a member of All Our Exes Live in Texas, Wighton strides bravely into the solo limelight. You'll soon hear her voice on the new season of HBO's The Leftovers, so you know she's doing well with "Real Thing," a shimmery, whole-hearted anthem that's as raw as bright as it is shiny.
A break from her more melancholy storytelling, "Real Thing" dives straight into the raw, unflinching thrill of joy. Draped in slacker-rock guitar riffs, bedroom-pop warmth, and indie-folk sincerity, "Real Thing" is a paean to love in its most easygoing state. Wighton's vocals float atop dreamy synths and lo-fi textures, teetering on the right side of nostalgia and brand new.
With echoes of Boygenius' introspective lyricism, Avril Lavigne's anthemic energy, and the heart-stirring depth of Snow Patrol, "Real Thing" is refreshingly modern and comfortingly familiar. It's the type of song that makes you want to drive with the windows down, yelling each word at the top of your lungs, but it also hangs there like a silent moment of clarity. You've found something real.
For Wighton, "Real Thing" is a personal landmark. "Real Thing is that rare, everything-clicks feeling," she says. There's no overthinking, no second-guessing, just pure, uncomplicated fun.
Effortlessly cool but sentimentally honest, "Real Thing" is Katie Wighton at her unguarded, naked best, and what a glorious thing to behold.